Page 23 of Tangled in His Embrace

Gabby finished swallowing and took a drink of her orange juice before she spoke. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“I think we need to talk.”

Again, she remained silent.

He waited until her plate was empty. “I was wrong.”

That seemed to get her attention. Or at least he thought it did until she stood and took her plate to the sink without saying a word.

Jax pushed away from the table and followed her into the kitchen. “I thought about what you said and you were right. I should have talked to you... told you what the doctor said. It was wrong of me to take that choice away from you.”

She stilled, her gaze never leaving her hands.

It was now or never. Jax knew he needed to put it all out there because if he didn’t, he might never get another chance. “I was scared. Terrified. When I found out, I didn’t know what to do. The doctor wanted to see me again to discuss my options. I almost didn’t go. I might not have if not for my dad.”

“You told your dad, but not me.” It was the first sign she was actually listening to him.

“I don’t know why, but yes. As soon as I got the call I drove to his work and waited for him.”

Gabby pressed her lips together and gripped the sink in front of her. He knew he’d hurt her again.

“We sat in the parking lot until sunset and he convinced me to keep the appointment.” Jax shook his head and took a step closer, longing to reach out for her but knowing he shouldn’t. “The doctor said my best chance was to go to a hospital in Chicago. They were doing some cutting-edge stuff with lasers and he said it was my best chance at getting the mass removed without causing permanent damage.”

He saw her blink and hoped she wasn’t going to start crying. There was no way he’d be able to stop himself from trying to comfort her if he saw tears.

“It took me three days to decide to do as the doctor suggested and go to Chicago.” He didn’t hold anything back. “I told you I had to go see a client.”

“I don’t want to hear any more.” She spun on her heels and practically ran to her bedroom.

Jax hightailed it right after her. He’d run away three years ago and look where it had gotten them.

The door to her room began closing in his face and he thrust his hand out to stop it.

“Leave me alone, Jax. I don’t want to talk,” she yelled through the semi-closed door.

“That’s too bad because I’m not going anywhere. We need to talk about this.”

“No, we don’t. It doesn’t matter anymore. You left. What more is there to say?” He could have sworn he heard some of the same shakiness in her voice from the night before, and suddenly her running away made sense. She didn’t want him to see her cry again.

“I’m coming in.” It was all the notice he gave before pushing the door open and walking inside.

Gabby stood near the center of the room, her face flushed and her eyes full of moisture. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I need to tell you. It’s been hanging between us and we can’t keep dancing around it.” It was killing him to keep his hands to himself, but he managed it somehow. “Taylor deserves better than two parents who avoid each other whenever possible.”

“I don’t—”

“Yes. You do,” he said in the gentlest tone possible.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she crossed her arms and fixed him with a hard stare. “Fine. Let’s talk. Did you even think about telling me the truth back then?”

“Yes.”

“So why didn’t you?”

He saw the fire in her eyes again and knew he needed to tread lightly. “I didn’t want to scare you if it was nothing, so I wanted to wait and see what the other doctor in Chicago said. I was hoping the specialist I’d seen here in St. Louis was wrong.”

She waited.

“While I was waiting to see the new doctor, I couldn’t help but look around. Almost everyone there was with someone—a husband, a wife, a parent. They varied in age to not much older than me to my parents’ age. But the one thing they had in common was how worn out they looked. They all looked exhausted. I knew if the doctor didn’t have good news for me that this would be my fate, too. Our fate.”

Unable to handle being so far away from her any longer, Jax took a seat beside her on the bed. She stiffened. He didn’t know if she was bracing herself for whatever came next, or if she feared what would happen if he touched her. Especially considering where they were.

“The doctor laid it all out for me. Best case scenario would more than likely include months of physical therapy.” He sighed. “I couldn’t do that to you. Or Taylor. So I chose to leave you both, hoping that if I made it I could come back to you.”

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